A Legacy Built on Precision
From a humble beginning as a manufacturer of gears to becoming the world’s premier all-round manufacturer of grinding machines, the history of Okamoto is a timeline of constant innovation.
Milestones
1926
Kakusaburou Okamoto founded Okamoto Specialized Machine Tool Manufacturing Co., Ltd. as a privately owned business.
1930
Developed Japan’s first gear grinding machine, the ASG-2 model.
1935
The company changed its name and organization to Okamoto Machine Tool Works, Ltd.
and established its head office at 3-4 Ginza, Kyobashi-ku, Tokyo.
The Yokohama Factory began operations with the relocation of some of the equipment from the Yaguchi Factory, which was the main factory at the time, and the construction of new facilities.
1942
Relocation of Tokyo Head Office to Kohoku Ward, Yokohama City.
1945
The entire headquarters and Yokohama factory were requisitioned by the US military.
Market trading of our company’s shares was naturally suspended as a result of the above requisition.
1950
Merged with Hosoda Machinery Co., Ltd.
1953
Started manufacturing surface grinding machines.
Developed Japan’s first surface grinding machine, the PSG-6 model.
1954
Developed the IGM series of internal grinding machines.
1955
Developed Japan’s first peripheral blade slicing machine PSG3Ge type.
1957
The requisition of Head Office and Yokohama Factory was fully lifted.
Establishment of development and production system for surface grinding machines and various other machine tools.
1968
1969
1972
1973
Spun off the gear division of the Hiroshima Plant and established Okamoto Gear Co., Ltd.
Established OKAMOTO (SINGAPORE) PTE LTD, the first local subsidiary to manufacture machine tools in Singapore (currently a consolidated subsidiary).
Started manufacturing machine tools in Singapore, the first in the country.
1974
Developed the PRG series of rotary surface grinders.
1975
Hiroshima Factory spun off to form Okamoto Machinery Co., Ltd., which is responsible for manufacturing small models.
Furthermore, Service division spun off to form Okamoto Giken Service Co., Ltd.
1981
Established Sanyo Okamoto Co., Ltd. to handle sales in the Hiroshima area.
1982
Annaka Factory construction was completed and begun operations.
1983
Our affiliate Okamoto Giken Service Co., Ltd. changed its name to Giken Co., Ltd.
Yokohama Factory relocated and closed; Atsugi Factory opened in Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture.
1985
New Atsugi Factory construction was completed and begun operations.
1986
Our subsidiaries Okamoto Machinery Co., Ltd., Okamoto Gear Co., Ltd., and Sanyo Okamoto Co., Ltd. merged to form a new company, Okamoto Machinery Co., Ltd. (currently a consolidated subsidiary).
Developed the best-selling PFG500 series of general-purpose grinding machines.
1987
Established OKAMOTO (THAI) CO., LTD. in Thailand (currently a consolidated subsidiary)
Developed the best-selling PSG-DX series of general-purpose surface grinding machines.
1990
The second phase of construction at the Annaka Factory was completed.
1991
Acquired Nissho Co., Ltd. and made it a subsidiary.
Business alliance with US machine tool manufacturer.
1992
Established OKAMOTO MACHINE TOOL EUROPE GmbH, a local subsidiary in Germany (currently a consolidated subsidiary)
Acquired Shibayama Machinery Co., Ltd. and made it a subsidiary.
1994
Okamoto (Singapore) Pte, Ltd. obtains ISO 9002 certification.
(a first in the machine tool industry in Asia)
1995
Established a branch office in Singapore as a sales and service base.
1997
Received the Technology Award from the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME) for the development of a fully automatic vertical high-precision surface grinding machine.
Received the Technology Award from the Japan Society for Abrasive Technology (JSAT) for the development of a fully automatic high-precision, high-efficiency CMP device.
Sales of the best-selling PSG-DX series of general-purpose surface grinding machines exceeded 5,000 units.
2000
Relocation of head office to Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture (Atsugi Factory)
2002
Establishment of a representative office in Shanghai, China.
2003
Relocated main office to Annaka City, Gunma Prefecture (Annaka Factory)
Relocated head office to Kohoku Ward, Yokohama City.
2005
Completion of clean room for testing and inspection of semiconductor-related equipment at Annaka Plant.
Completion of temperature-controlled processing and assembly booth at Annaka Plant.
Completion of new assembly plant at Okamoto (Thai) Co., Ltd.
2006
Spindle room completed at Annaka Plant.
New casting plant completed at Okamoto (Thai) Co., Ltd.
(Combined production capacity of old and new plants became 1,800 tons per month)
2007
Completion of the sheet metal and painting factory at Okamoto (Thai) Co., Ltd.
As equipment for the Annaka Factory,
the world’s largest ultra-precision double column type surface grinding machine UDG10035NC with a hydrostatic guideway system has been completed.
2009
Integrated Singapore branch into Okamoto (Singapore) Pte Ltd.
2010
iQ software developed to convert surface grinding know-how into software. Development of machines equipped with iQ software.
Development of PSG-CHLi series double column type CNC precision surface grinding machines to meet the demand for high precision and high efficiency in large workpieces such as progressive dies.
2011
In order to meet the demand for micro-forming of small parts,
we have developed the UPZ210LiⅡ ultra-precision forming grinding machine driven by a linear motor.
2012
Relocation of head office to Annaka City, Gunma Prefecture (Annaka Factory)
2013
A new Machinery Division is established at Okamoto Engineering (Changzhou) Co., Ltd., a Chinese subsidiary of Okamoto Engineering Co., Ltd., and the Shanghai Representative Office is transferred to that division (currently a consolidated subsidiary).
Our subsidiaries Giken Co., Ltd. and Nissho Co., Ltd. merged to form a new company, Giken Co., Ltd. (currently a consolidated subsidiary).
2014
Development of UGM360NC CNC Precision Universal Cylindrical Grinding Machine.
, which was annouced at JIMTOF2014, the 28th Japan International Machine Tool Fair.
2015
Development of UGM360NC CNC Precision Universal Cylindrical Grinding Machine.
, which was annouced at JIMTOF2014, the 28th Japan International Machine Tool Fair.
2016
Developed the HPG500NC series of high-precision forming grinding machines.
Developed the SELF fully automatic surface grinding system.
2020
Developed the IGM15NⅢ-2B precision internal grinding machine.
Developed the UDG-Li series of double column type CNC precision surface grinding machines
2021
Launched the Quick Touch on-machine measurement system.
The ASG-2 type spur gear grinding machine, a collection of the Museum of Industrial Technology, Nippon Institute of Technology, was listed in “Mechanical Engineering Heritage” No.106 accredited by the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME).
Established OKAMOTO INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED as a sales company in India.
2022
Transition to the Tokyo Stock Exchange Standard Market
Three newly developed models exhibited at JIMTOF 2022
・CNC precision surface grinding machine PSG126CA-iQ
・Vertical rotary surface grinding machine VRG-DX series
・Grinding center UGM64GC
2023
Acquired all shares of Daiwa Koki Co., Ltd. in Miyakonojo City, Miyazaki Prefecture, making it a wholly owned subsidiary (currently a consolidated subsidiary).
Acquired the surface grinding machine manufacturing and sales business from Nikko Co., Ltd. in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture, and established NICCO Co., Ltd., a new wholly owned subsidiary of our company.
Established the Kyushu Technical Support Center to expand our semiconductor service base.
Received the SUMCO Supplier Award.
2024
Concluded a capital and business alliance agreement with Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and implemented a third-party allocation of new shares to Mitsui & Co., Ltd.
Fully automatic grinding equipment for through-Si via wafer was recognized as a successful development by the Japan Science and Technology Agency.